Voice of Sesame Street’s Elmo Accused of Sex With Underage Boy

It’s not a sunny day on “Sesame Street,” as the show revealed Monday that the puppeteer behind Elmo has been accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage boy.

“In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a then 23-year-old man who alleged that he had a relationship beginning when he was 16 years old with Kevin Clash,” reps for the show said in a statement.

Clash, 52, who has been Elmo’s Muppeteer since 1984, adamantly maintains the accusation is false, but the show was forced to investigate.

Says Clash, according to TMZ, “I had a relationship with [the accuser]. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.”

“We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action,” Sesame Workshop said in the statement. “We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated.”

1. A relationship between a person in the late 40s and a late teen or twentyish partner seems just a little creepy to a lot of people.
2. It’s a bit creepy whether it’s a straight relationship or a gay relationship.
3. Depending on the jurisdiction, the relationship may have been lawful, and only the business of the people involved, even if the younger person was sixteen at the time. There have been some very odd cases where someone (usually a man) has had a sexual relationship with someone under 18 and taken pictures. The older partner has been prosecuted for child porn over the images but not for sexual activity because the younger partner was of age in that state.
4. If the relationship was coercive, I’m ready to consider whether it was criminal. If it was consensual, I’m inclined to say it’s the individuals’ business and not society’s, nor the government’s. I don’t understand that the statement involves any accusation of coercion.
5. By and large, I think we should consider this on the same terms as we would if the accuser and accused were opposite sexes.